My name is Eva, and I'm a '25 Mechanical Engineering BE student from Upstate New York. My time at Dartmouth has been marked by the combination of the arts and engineering on campus and you can often find me working on a new project in either the Dartmouth Engineering Machine Shop or Visual Arts Center. In my free time, I love to work on lego sets and watch the craziest reality tv I can find!
With the glory of the super fast paced 10 week term, an environment full of limitless opportunities, and a community of go-getters, it can be hard to stop moving for a day, let alone 6 weeks.
Here at Dartmouth our winter break is composed of a fall/Thanksgiving break, a winter break, and then two weeks in between which we call our "winterim." This year, it looks like our break starting around November 20th and ending January 3rd.
Amidst the stress of finals and projects around the end of the term came the stress of what to do next, specifically during this unique winterim. I didn't have anything planned and it seemed as though most of the people around me had. After asking around, I found people were going on 2 week long trips with the DMC, getting internships with DCSI, signing up for online classes, partaking in a medical shadowing program, and even completing a 2 week long EMT course on the Dartmouth campus. I felt behind and honestly a bit frightened seeing as though there were so many opportunities that I could've taken advantage of but didn't. After speaking with my undergraduate dean, I discovered that I wasn't behind at all.
Though there is an endless amount of opportunities during winterim and the entirety of winter break, that doesn't mean the best option for every student is to take advantage of them. My dean expressed that it really is okay to take a break when you need one, especially as a freshman. For me personally, I had an incredibly difficult time finding friends, adjusting to classes, and just fitting into the Dartmouth scene in general. Embracing the idea of de-stressing for a few weeks really became more important after realizing this!
Currently my plans for this winterim include:
Playing Mario Kart with my siblings
Made friends with a goat while visiting a farm with my family
Training in the gym for a season of rock climbing
Catching up on Criminal Minds on Netflix
Visiting family
Going to a few concerts
(Maybe) getting a head start on some chemistry before winter term starts
I feel so much better knowing a break in college won't derail my capabilities for success, and I'm even more excited for some lounge time that I haven't experienced in 3 months.
This past Friday, my French program stepped beyond the classroom and into history itself with a day trip to Montauban and Moissac, where art, architecture, and place came together through hands-on learning.
Our first weekend in Toulouse took us to the medieval town of Carcassonne, where exploring historic ramparts, sharing regional food, and traveling together turned history into a communal and meaningful experience.
Curious about how declaring a major works at Dartmouth? Concerned about getting trapped studying something you don't like? No need to worry. Come explore with me how majors and minors work at Dartmouth!
